One of the things that I like about the town we have visited in Florida on and off for the last fifteen years, is the reliability of it. We go to mostly the same restaurants, mostly the same shops, tread mostly the same beaches and it all reaches out to us like an old friend.

Within the haunts and havens there are always surprises. How could I have not been to the church thrift store that holds designer bags and vintage prints until this year? How long has the new shop been open at the Inn and why were the pelicans there en masse when we had seen hardly one before? All these things make me see it with a fresh perspective and appreciate it all over again.

So, too, does the work of Brian McCarthy, which appears in April's House Beautiful. It's a treat to see designers' own homes and this one is. (He shares it with partner Daniel Sager.) The country home is fresh, but has a pleasing familiarity as do many rooms of the designers who worked with Sister Parish and Albert Hadley. I find the rooms of that alumni are often among my favorites.